Dispensing container having closure locking means



May l?, 1949.l c. o. BALL 2,470,388

DISPENSING CONTAINER HAVING CLOSURE LOCKING MEANS Filed Jan. 25, 1945Patented May 17, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE lDISPENSING CONTAINERHAVING CLOSUBE LOCKING MEANS Charles O. Ball, Toledo, Ohio, asslgnor toOwens- Illinois Glass Company, a corporation of Ohio Application January25, 1945, Serial No.v 574,515

3 Claims. (Cl. 229-17) hinged portion serving as a. door or means foropening and closing a lling and dispensing opening in the top of ythecontainer'and designed to provide complete protection cf the contents off the container from contamination by extraneous matter, both before andduring removal of the contents from the container.

A further object of the invention is to provide a container made ofsheet material and having a plural ply top having the several pliesscored in a manner to define sections which may be severed along thescore lines to provide a swinging closure or door adapted for openingand clos- -ing an opening through which the contents of the containermay be dispensed, the several plies of the door being constructed andarranged to protect the contents of the container from `contamination.

Other objects of the invention will appear hereinafter. I

Referring to the accompanying drawings: Fig. 1 is an elevation of -ablank of sheet mate-'- rial adapted to be folded for forming thecontainer.

`Fig. 2 is a plan view showing the blank folded to complete the body ofthe container and having certain of the top ilaps folded to form thelowermost ply of the top, and the other top flaps swung outwardly forthe purpose of illustration.

Fig. 3 is Ia perspective view of the completed container opened fordispensing its contents.

Referring to Fig. 1, the blank of fibrous sheet material such'aspaper orcardboard from which the container is formed, is cut or stamped 'fromsheet stock in a single piece. The blank 4is adapted to be folded alongvertical lines I to form the sides Il, 1, I, and i of 'the containerbody, the side i having an integral marginal strip I for forming thebody seam. .The bottom of the container is formed by lower end flaps II,I2, I3, and Il which are folded inwardly lalong s, line I5 and securedtogether by'adhesive material.

The top of the container comprises flaps I6, I1, I8, and Is which arefolded inwardly along the line 20 which defines the upper edge o1' thecontainer. body. The top formed by these flaps is of three-plyconstruction. The lower or innermost ply is formed by the flaps I1 and I9. After the body of the container has. been formed by folding along thelines l, the flaps I1 and I! may be folded-inwardly at right angles tothe body with their free edges `2l (Fig. 2) abutting or in closeproximity, -therebyforming the lowermost ply' of the container top. Theblank is slit along the lines 22 to permit folding of the flaps. Theflap I9 comprises a removable section 23. one end of which is defined bya slit 2l. The sides are dened by weakened lines 25 consisting of scoresor perforations-permitting the section 2'! to be separated from the flapas hereinafter described.

The intermediate ply of the container top conssts of the flap I8 whichisv folded inwardly to over-lie the lower ply. The flap I8 comprises asection 26 adapted to be severed along score lines 21 defining the sidesthereof.

The outer or top ply of the top is formed by folding the flap I'Sinwardly over the intermediate ply I8. The flap I6 comprises a section28 adapted to -be severed along score lines 29 defining the edges ofsaid section, permitting the latter to be swung upwardly about a hingeline 30.

The sections 23, 26 and 28 are so positioned and arranged that when theflaps are folded for for-ming the top, said sections are in superposedrelation as shown in Fig. 3. They are also secured together by adhesiveas hereinafter described, providing a door for closing an opening 3|through which the container is ililed and through which the contents aredispensed.

door opening :I corresponds in size and shape to the removable section2J, being formed by the' removal of :aid section from the nap I9 aspresently described.

The several plies form-ing the container top .when folded together areadhered to each other and held in position by adhesive material whichmay be applied to the flaps before the blank is folded. The adhesive isapplied to the shaded areas in Fig. 2. The adhesive material covers theupper face of the lower ply comprising flaps Il and I9, except blankareas 32 and Il which 32 and 33. The section 26 is adhered only to theremovable section 23 of the underlying ply.

The flap I6 has a `coating of adhesive material applied .to its innerface and covering all that portion thereof extraneous to the doorsection 28. The latter is left bare except a coated area 34 which, whenthe top is folded, overlies the door section 26. The flap I6 is formedwith an-integral strip 35 adapted to be folded downwardly against theside 8 0f the container and adhered thereto by adhesive material appliedto the corners 36 of the strip, said corners being adapted to beseparated from the remainder of the strip along score lines 31.

In sealing the upper end of the container, the

'flaps II and I9 are folded inwardly as above described to form theinner ply of the top. The flap I8 is then folded inwardly so that it issecurely adhered to the subjacent ply, with the door section 26overlying and adhered to the removable door section 23. The flap I6 isthen folded inwardly and adhered to the underlying ply I8 over itsentire area outside of that dened by the door section 28. The area 34 ofadhesive on the door section 28 overlies the section 26 and is adheredthereto yover substantially its entire area except the inner end portionof the section 26 adjacent to the hinge line 38. The ap 35 is thenfolded down and adhered to the container wall 8, thereby completing the'container and leaving it hermetically sealed.

To open the container for dispensing its contents, a knife blade or ,thelike is inserted beneath the edge of the sealing strip 35 and the latterby an upward pull is severed along the score lines 31. As the upwardpull continues, the door sections 28, 26 and 23 are severed along theirside edges and the door thereby opened. As the door section 28 or upperply of the door is of substantially greater area than the removablesection 23 which defines the opening 3|, and overlies the intermediateply surrounding said opening, the surface portions of the container topsurrounding the opening and with which the contents of the container maycome in contact, are kept clean and free of dust or other 4foreignmaterial so that the contents of the container are protected againstcontamination. Also, when the door, which may comprise the major portionof the top surface of the container, is raised, particles ofcontaminating material which may have been deposited on the top of theclosed containenare prevented from falling into the container in whichmilk or other liquid is poured. After dispensing any desired portion ofthe contents, the door may be lowered lfor closing the pour opening 3land again covering and protecting the surrounding surfaces.

As shown in Fig. 3, the side edges of the removable section 23 areparallel with those of the section 26 and slightly overlap the latter.That is, the section 23 is slightly wider than the opening through theintermediate ply I8, so that when the door' is swung down to closedposition, the section 23 is forced or squeezed through said opening andengages beneath the edges of the opening, thereby holding the door inclosed position. The material forming the door is suliicientlycompressible and resilient to permit the closing of the door.-

If desired, a score line 38 (Fig. 2) may be made across the inner end ofthe door section 26, so that said section is completely severed from the4ply I8 when the door is opened.

Modifications may be resorted to within the spirit and scope of myinvention.

I claim:

l. A container formed of .sheet material and comprising a rectangulartubular body and a. plural ply top formed of aps integral with said bodyand folded inwardly therefrom, said top including an upper ply, anintermediate ply, and a lower ply, the lower ply having an openingtherethrough, said top including a hinged door comprising upper, lower,and intermediate door sections adhered together, said lower sectionbeing fitted within said opening, said intermediate ply being formedwith an opening in register with said intermediate door section andhaving marginal edges positioned to slightly overlap and overlie thelower door section when said door is in closed position, the extent ofsaid overlap being such that the lower door section can pass throughsaid opening in the intermediate ply as the door moves to closedposition and engage beneath said overlapping edges and releasably holdsaid door in closed position.

2. A container formed of sheet material and comprising a rectangulartubular body and top end iiaps folded inwardly and forming a threeplytop for the container including an upper ply, an intermediate ply and alower ply, said lower ply comprising a door section defined by weakenedlines extending along the sides thereof and removable to provide apour-out opening, said intermediate ply comprising a door sectionoverlying said removable section and defined by weakened lines along itsside edges, said upper ply having a door section having side edges denedby weakened lines, said door sections being adhered to each other andadapted to be severed along said weakened lines and form a door hingedto be swung to position to'close said opening, said door section'of thelower ply having its side edges protruding beyond the side edges of theoverlying door section of the intermediate ply a. slight distance suchthat as the said door is closed, said protruding edges pass between andengage beneath the adjoining edges of the intermediate ply and therebyreleasably hold the door in closed position, the material forming thedoor being sufficiently compressible and resilient to permit saidclosing and releasable holding of the door.

3. A container formed of sheet material and comprising a rectangulartubular body and top end flaps folded inwardly and forming a three plytop for the container including an upper ply, an intermediate ply and alower ply, said lower ply comprising a door section defined by Weakenedlines extending along the sides 'thereof toa.`

free edge of the ply and removable to provide a pour-out opening, saidintermediate ply coma door hinged to be swung to and from position toclose said opening, said door section of the upper ply including at itsfree end a. nap folded downward against a side wall of the container.the nap' having corner portions adhered to the container and theremainder of the ap being unadhered, the flap having corner score linesseparating the adhered corner portions from the said remainder of theflap, permitting the Hap to be released 'ly` `severance along said scorelines thereof.

CHARLES 0. BALL.

' REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Namo Date Doble Oct. 8, 1912 Daller May 21,1935 Forrer Nov. 12, 1935 Mergentheim Jan. 18, 1938 Lanko et al e- July18, 1939 Stedman Oct. 8, 1940' Chase July 6, 1943 Sunderhauf Dec. 14,1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Number Great Britain July 5, 1938

